As blue chips falter, the sacred buy-and-hold strategy looks suspect. Our experts are on the case

As an investing strategy, buy and hold has never been more suspect. Giant companies now collapse in scandal, like Enron; fall woefully behind in technology, like Polaroid; succumb to litigation, like Halliburton (asbestos); or get whacked by overpriced deals, like AOL. Are there still stocks that you can throw in a drawer and sleep well for years? Or has investing got so hopelessly complicated that individuals shouldn't try to go it alone?